Cracking the QR Code

Today’s ‪#‎WhatIsWednesday‬ is about those funny little codes that are plastered on advertisements, billboards, business windows and products. What are they? How do you get one? Do you need one?

A QR Code is short for “Quick Response Code.” You can download a QR Code reader on your phone, scan one of these codes and be taken to a specific website. They are super easy to make, simply go to a site like this: http://www.qrstuff.com/ type in your URL and it will spit out a lovely little image for you to place all over your marketing material.

To answer the question on if you need one, the answer is… maybe. Don’t get one just to have one. Make sure you have a good reason for people to whip out their phones and scan. For example, some pharmaceutical companies use a different QR code on every product. Consumers can then scan this code to be directed to a page dedicated to information about that specific product. It’s much easier than putting a long domain name on your packaging or making the consumer navigate a website.

Finally remember, phones don’t come with a pre-installed QR Code reader so your demographic must be techno-savy enough to know what they are.